REBEL COLONEL MAY TRY TO TOPPLE AQUINO AGAIN

MANILA, Philippines -- Renegade army Col. Gregorio Honasan, who commands an estimated 2,000 men, may attempt another coup to topple President Corazon Aquino, the nation's defense secretary said Wednesday.

Speaking to reporters after a cabinet meeting, Defense Secretary Rafael Ileto ruled out an immediate government offensive against Honasan, who is in hiding. But he said Honasan, former security chief to Aquino rival Juan Ponce Enrile, may "try again."

Brig. Gen. Alexander Aguirre, Manila police and army commander, said four helicopters and infantry troops were dispatched north of Manila to "track down a sighted groupof soldiers."

Aquino also appeared on television Wednesday evening, calling the aborted coup "one of the saddest events in the history of our country."

Aquino said 53 people died in the 20-hour revolt -- 22 civilians, 12 government soldiers and 19 rebel troops. Earlier reports had put the death toll at 42.

Aquino said captured rebel soldiers said Honasan, nicknamed "Gringo," had tricked them into believing they were on a "test mission."

"Some of these rebel soldiers even had notebooks with them," Aquino said. "Soldiers from other units carried fake radio reports that Malacanang Palace was under siege by the NPA (Communist New People's Army)".

"All they wanted was to kill me and take over the government," Aquino said of Honasan and his fellow coup leaders.

The NPA's political wing, the outlawed Communist Party of the Philippines, vowed to take advantage of the rift within military ranks to "intensify the revolutionary armed struggle" against the government. The 23,000-member NPA has been fighting the government for 18 years.

The U.S. ambassador to the Philippines "categorically" denied U.S. Embassy personnel were involved in Friday's coup attempt -- the bloodiest and most serious challenge to Aquino's 18-month-old government.

Ambassador Nicholas Platt's denial came after a suggestion by Senator Raul Manglapus, chairman of the Senate Defense Committee, that the mutineers might have been assisted by the CIA.

Asked if Honasan could stage a comeback, Ileto pointed out that Aquino had survived five coup attempts since coming to power in a civilian-backed military uprising in February 1986.

"They might try again," the West Point-trained general said.

A spokeswoman at Clark Air Base, some 50 miles north of Manila, said the U.S. facility had "increased vigilance and stepped up security because of the recent events in Manila."